Letter: Time to open a Visitor Information Center

Thursday

Feb 6, 2014 at 2:53 PMFeb 6, 2014 at 4:59 PM

It was not long ago we had the ubiquitous rest areas that dotted most major highways across the country. They provided a brief respite for weary travelers who were on vacation, visiting friends or relatives or just using our interstate system for routine travel. You could use the restrooms, get some tourists brochures, have a picnic lunch or just stretch your legs.

It was not long ago we had the ubiquitous rest areas that dotted most major highways across the country. They provided a brief respite for weary travelers who were on vacation, visiting friends or relatives or just using our interstate system for routine travel. You could use the restrooms, get some tourists brochures, have a picnic lunch or just stretch your legs.

So, that brings us to the local interest and concern with the closing of the rest area on Interstate 195 East in Swansea, now officially called a Visitors Information Center. The purpose is the same, but the name has changed to a VIC. Most are closed because the state, specifically the Massachusetts Office of Tourism and Travel, has determined these centers have outlived their usefulness. The rationale is motorists just use the rest rooms and, with the GPS and smart phones filling their information needs, the expense to keep them open is not justified.

When the Swansea VIC was shuttered several years ago, it had a very real and direct effect on local businesses and tourist attractions. Four years ago, several of us, through the efforts of Arts United and with the assistance of state Rep. Paul Schmid, put together a plan to reopen the VIC.

After numerous visits to the VIC and talks with state officials it was determined that due to the faulty septic system and the prohibitive cost to repair it, and expensive alternatives such as green toilets, it was not economically feasible to reopen the facility.

With the loss of the VIC, the only rest area from the Rhode Island border to Cape Cod is another 35 miles to the Wareham VIC. An alternative plan had to be developed. As a City Councilor at the time and then-chair of the Committee on Economic Development, I contacted then- Commissioner of the Department of Conservation and Recreation Ed Lambert.

My proposal was to use part of the Fall River Heritage State Park building for a VIC. DCR was looking to repurpose the facility and we needed a location that had restrooms and an information desk staffed by volunteers to greet motorists, answer questions, hand out brochures and encourage them to visit our city.

The plan included providing local tourists packages with trolleys in the parking lot ready to transport them around the city, or they could just enjoy the waterfront activities. With an average of 75,000 cars per day going over the bridge and nearly 500 daily stops at the Swansea VIC during peak season, it would be a real economic boon to local business to have a VIC located at Heritage State Park.

The Fall River Chamber of Commerce and Industry has filled-in, offering some services in its lobby, but we need a much more robust effort and a more substantial commitment to attract paying tourists to our city. So when people wonder what's happening with the Swansea VIC the answer is it could be plenty, I will continue my efforts to open a VIC at Heritage State Park and welcome others to join me in making this a reality.